Key Quotes from 1983 Shareholder Letter

1. "Although our form is corporate, our attitude is partnership. Charlie Munger and I think of our shareholders as owner-partners, and of ourselves as managing partners. We do not view the company itself as the ultimate owner of our business assets but, instead, view the company as a conduit through which our shareholders own the assets."

2. "Our directors are all major shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. In the case of at least four of the five, over 50% of family net worth is represented by holdings of Berkshire."

3. "Our long term economic goal is to maximize the average annual rate of gain in intrinsic business value on a per-share basis. We are certain that the rate of per-share progress will diminish in the future - a greatly enlarged capital base will see to that."

4. "When acquisition costs are similar, we much prefer to purchase $2 of earnings that is not reportable by us under standard accounting principles than to purchase $1 of earnings that is reportable."

5. "We test the wisdom of retaining earnings by assessing whether retention, over time, delivers shareholders at least $1 of market value for each $1 retained. To date, this test has been met. We will continue to apply it on a five-year rolling basis."

6. "We will reject interesting opportunities rather than over-leverage our balance sheet. This conservatism has penalized our results but it is the only behavior that leaves us comfortable."

7. "A managerial 'wish list' will not be filled at shareholder expense."

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Source: Full Letter